Veteran's Day

In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who risk their lives today for our freedom, thank you.

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

I agree! Thank you.

Next Tuesday is set aside to honor the Biffs of the world. FAKE VETERANS DAY!

Even though these threads are polluted with liberals who love to show their disdain for this country and her veterans in the hope that the rest of us will be silent, I join with the rest of the freedom loving people of this nation in thanking and remembering the courage, commitment and sacrifices of all our armed service members past and present.
Especially today I will remember them and the courageous heroes of Fort Hood who were murdered in a terrorist act of war.
GOD BLESS our VETERANS and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

:) citi

Tenney from Penney wrote:

Next Tuesday is set aside to honor the Biffs of the world. FAKE VETERANS DAY!

yOU ARE AN ASS - Take you bullsh1t somewhere else dickhead

http://philintheblank.com/wordpress/wp-conten...

Hug a Vet today!

God bless our brave men and women who serve in our country's military......and God bless those who have died, may they rest in peace. Thank all who serve and have served. I pray God will protect all those in both wars, may they all come back safe and sound....AMEN

This is for The Real Truths - a Real Vet:

You may have noticed some people referring to the soldiers who were murdered at Fort Hood last week as "heroes" and even "courageous heroes." I in no way mean to diminish or to appear disdainful of the terrible tragedy of so many senseless deaths at the hands of one very sick individual,(as I will be accused) but I am bothered when I hear people diminish the word "hero" and automatically assign it to anyone who wears a U.S. military uniform.

Modern Conservatives have made the word "serviceman/servicewoman " synonymous with the word "hero," so I'm asking you - a MCVeteran - do you have the same reservations in calling ordinary service men and women "heroes?"

Does being in the military automatically make one a hero?

Does being murdered automatically elevate them to hero status?

I will respect your thoughts and opinion on this, as only a real veteran is qualified to answer my questions.

TWTL wrote:

This is for The Real Truths - a Real Vet:
You may have noticed some people referring to the soldiers who were murdered at Fort Hood last week as "heroes" and even "courageous heroes." I in no way mean to diminish or to appear disdainful of the terrible tragedy of so many senseless deaths at the hands of one very sick individual,(as I will be accused) but I am bothered when I hear people diminish the word "hero" and automatically assign it to anyone who wears a U.S. military uniform.
Modern Conservatives have made the word "serviceman/servicewoman " synonymous with the word "hero," so I'm asking you - a MCVeteran - do you have the same reservations in calling ordinary service men and women "heroes?"
Does being in the military automatically make one a hero?
Does being murdered automatically elevate them to hero status?
I will respect your thoughts and opinion on this, as only a real veteran is qualified to answer my questions.

Special place in hell for you...right with the rest of the cowards you gutless POS.

Really wish I had time tonight to fully explore this question and read the ensuing discussion.
Quickly though.....the act of enlisting in the military is not of itself heroic. Patriotic maybe...but sometimes nothing more than an attempt to lift oneself out of a economic rut. Or just to satisfy a sense of adventure.

After 9/11 there certainly was bravery and selfless sacrifice displayed by thousands who enlisted in the face of almost certain deployment.

But to say that every life lost, while in uniform, denotes a heroic act is often merely an attempt by the speaker to avoid the realization that the the hero is also a victim. I guess it is much easier to think of oneself as not "heroic" than it is to allow yourself to become a potential victim.

When I visit the Wall I see the names of my friends and comrades who died needlessly in Viet Nam. If I were to allow myself to label them heroes I would be granting sanction to a war that amounted to nothing more than meat-grinder to satisfy mysterious political and geographic designs.

The term hero brings to mind a tall handsome young patriot with the sun shining in his face and Old Glory flapping in the background. Much better than the image of a twisted bloody form of a 18 year old victim of a senseless war.

Happy Veterans Day to all!

TWTL,
I think your questions and ideas are interesting. I don't believe that only a real vet can answer them, though answers from veterans would be a huge contribution. I also wish you had started this discussion as a separate thread so that the two topics wouldn't distract from each other.

TWTL wrote:

This is for The Real Truths - a Real Vet:
You may have noticed some people referring to the soldiers who were murdered at Fort Hood last week as "heroes" and even "courageous heroes." I in no way mean to diminish or to appear disdainful of the terrible tragedy of so many senseless deaths at the hands of one very sick individual,(as I will be accused) but I am bothered when I hear people diminish the word "hero" and automatically assign it to anyone who wears a U.S. military uniform.
Modern Conservatives have made the word "serviceman/servicewoman " synonymous with the word "hero," so I'm asking you - a MCVeteran - do you have the same reservations in calling ordinary service men and women "heroes?"
Does being in the military automatically make one a hero?
Does being murdered automatically elevate them to hero status?
I will respect your thoughts and opinion on this, as only a real veteran is qualified to answer my questions.

citi wrote:

<quoted text>
Special place in hell for you...right with the rest of the cowards you gutless POS.

Are you still feeling scared and vulnerable?

Remember....the words you choose say more about you than the one to whom you lash out.

P.S. "courageous hero" is a redundancy.

The Real Truths wrote:

Really wish I had time tonight to fully explore this question and read the ensuing discussion.
Quickly though.....the act of enlisting in the military is not of itself heroic. Patriotic maybe...but sometimes nothing more than an attempt to lift oneself out of a economic rut. Or just to satisfy a sense of adventure.
After 9/11 there certainly was bravery and selfless sacrifice displayed by thousands who enlisted in the face of almost certain deployment.
But to say that every life lost, while in uniform, denotes a heroic act is often merely an attempt by the speaker to avoid the realization that the the hero is also a victim. I guess it is much easier to think of oneself as not "heroic" than it is to allow yourself to become a potential victim.
When I visit the Wall I see the names of my friends and comrades who died needlessly in Viet Nam. If I were to allow myself to label them heroes I would be granting sanction to a war that amounted to nothing more than meat-grinder to satisfy mysterious political and geographic designs.
The term hero brings to mind a tall handsome young patriot with the sun shining in his face and Old Glory flapping in the background. Much better than the image of a twisted bloody form of a 18 year old victim of a senseless war.
Happy Veterans Day to all!

Thanks, RT, for your thoughtful input. I have an uncle who fought in Vietnam, and that war really messed him up for life. But he never considered himself a hero. In fact, the war messed with his mind to the point where he would have called himself any other word before ever calling himself a hero for serving. It was a lifelong struggle for him to come to terms with what he saw over there. He tried hard to drown his memories on a bar stool. And I know there are hundreds and thousands of other vets like him who would not ever consider themselves "heroes."

I'd also be very interested in hearing Storm Rider's and Smedley's thoughts on the "hero" status and what it means to be a hero.

Is "hero" a word that accurately fits the way you feel about your service?

How does it make you feel to be called a hero?

You and RT have both made good points - I find myself wondering how often an actual hero would think of him/herself as a hero. From what I've heard they tend to think of themselves as normal people who do what "needs to be done."

TWTL wrote:

<quoted text>
Thanks, RT, for your thoughtful input. I have an uncle who fought in Vietnam, and that war really messed him up for life. But he never considered himself a hero. In fact, the war messed with his mind to the point where he would have called himself any other word before ever calling himself a hero for serving. It was a lifelong struggle for him to come to terms with what he saw over there. He tried hard to drown his memories on a bar stool. And I know there are hundreds and thousands of other vets like him who would not ever consider themselves "heroes."

A hero (heroine in female)(Ancient Greek: &#7973;&#961;&#969 ;&#962;, h&#275;r&#333;s), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.[1] Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who,

in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good,

originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.

Stories of heroism may serve as moral examples. In classical antiquity, hero cults – veneration of deified heroes such as Heracles, Perseus, and Achilles – played an important role in Ancient Greek religion. Politicians, ancient and modern, have employed hero worship for their own apotheosis (i.e., cult of personality).

The literal meaning of the word is "protector" or "defender"[citation needed] and etymologically it is thought to be cognate with the name of the goddess Hera, the guardian of marriage; the postulated original forms of these words being *&#7973;&#961;F&#9 69;&#962;, h&#275;rw&#333;s, and *&#7981;&#961;F&#9 45;, H&#275;rw&#257;, respectively. It is also thought to be a cognate of the Latin verb servo (original meaning: to preserve whole) and of the Avestan verb haurvaiti (to keep vigil over), although the original Proto-Indoeuropean root is unclear.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the Indo-European root is ser meaning "to protect". According to Eric Partridge in Origins, the Greek word H&#275;r&#333;s "is akin to" the Latin seru&#257;re, meaning to safeguard. Partridge concludes, "The basic sense of both Hera and hero would therefore be 'protector'."

:):):)

For the Boehn-headed TWIT.

:) citi

TWTL wrote:

This is for The Real Truths - a Real Vet:
You may have noticed some people referring to the soldiers who were murdered at Fort Hood last week as "heroes" and even "courageous heroes." I in no way mean to diminish or to appear disdainful of the terrible tragedy of so many senseless deaths at the hands of one very sick individual,(as I will be accused) but I am bothered when I hear people diminish the word "hero" and automatically assign it to anyone who wears a U.S. military uniform.
Modern Conservatives have made the word "serviceman/servicewoman " synonymous with the word "hero," so I'm asking you - a MCVeteran - do you have the same reservations in calling ordinary service men and women "heroes?"
Does being in the military automatically make one a hero?
Does being murdered automatically elevate them to hero status?
I will respect your thoughts and opinion on this, as only a real veteran is qualified to answer my questions.

Interesting discussion, so I'll join in. I am very active with the local VFW as one of the Post senior officers (also for the District), and this is something that is discussed alot. Talking with Vets from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, OEF/OIF, and all the missions in between; there is a difference in oppinion here. If you weren't drafted, or you didn't storm the beaches in Normandy, or you didn't fight the Chinese in some Korean mountain; you are some how less of a Vet. And I see some of these oppinions, which understandably based on individual personal experiences, expressed on TOPIX. None the less, it is aggreed between all of the Vets, that if you ever donned a Military uniform and performed your duties HONORABLY, you are a hero.

I'll say from personal experience, I served in the Navy mostly during peace time. We didn't have a specific enemy, but that doesn't mean my service is less important that the Sailor that served in the Pacific theater. Being deployed to Taiwan in '96 and steaming close to the Chinese may have prevented an invasion. Being in a Tomahawk Box in '94 may have prevented Iraqi Resurgency. Conducting humanitarian ops in Malasia after the Tsunami may have saved some lives. Makeing port visits in many foreign countries (and actually living in one for a number of years) may just have made the USA look more influential. All of the Services have done lots of this.

I'm not saying that my service was more important than anyone else's was. During wartime or during peace, we contribute so much to the defence and influence of our Nation and our Friends. It does break my heart to see in the news when one of our Servicemen/Servicewomen behaves less than Honorably, or discredits their service. Thier acts do have a terrible impact on our readiness and credibility.

More to follow...

rt is a brainwashed sap..

Twit? Did you have your thread removed? The one where you were trying to prove you were smarter than a 5th grader? Boehn-head?
Whassamattuh, Corby? Can't take the heat? Coward.
No WONDER you have no idea what a hero is.

:) citi

Karen wrote:

You and RT have both made good points - I find myself wondering how often an actual hero would think of him/herself as a hero. From what I've heard they tend to think of themselves as normal people who do what "needs to be done."
<quoted text>

Continuing from my last post, personnally I do no consider myself a hero. I do consider ANYONE else, reguardless of which campaign, who served HONORABLY a hero. You are right, most of us will say that. We know what we did and that it was important, but it was done cause it needed to be done.

In reflection after yesterday, it was a wonderful feeling when we were doing our Memorial Ceremonies around Middletown, having drivers honk their horns in support, and even had a couple stop and join in.

I also want to just interject a few things here also. Don't just remember Vets a couple of days a year, remember them every day of the year.

I also want to thank the people who never wore the uniform but were just as important. The moms and dads of our servicefolks, who supported thier kids by sending mail and packages to uplift the spirits of thier kin. The wives and husbands who at times, years sometimes, raised kids and homes alone while thier spouse answered the call of duty. Anyone who selflessly supported our missions, ships, equipment, and health of our military. And anyone who ever said 'Thank-you for you service', your support really has, does, and will keep us going on the ships, battle fields, and aircraft. You too are heros, and as you remember us, we do remember what you have done for us.

'Don't Give Up The Ship!'